These costs can do serious damage to your long term financial health because they silently drain your bank account every single month. They're even subject to regular rate hikes to maximize profits for your service provider, often outpacing the rate of inflation.

Knowing that, I try to review my service costs regularly and keep them as low as I can while not depriving myself of what I really need. Now that I have a home office, I need top speed and rock solid internet for example. I also need reliable cell phones with lots of minutes and data - whereas I used to be able to get by without that in years past.

Here's a breakdown of my current services for my household of 2 adults and 2 children - all prices include taxes and fees.

Magic Jack, officially spelled “magicJack”, is a small easy to use device that allows you to make unlimited local and long distance phone calls anywhere in Canada and the United States for only $20/year. Yes, that’s year, not month! Impressive, right?

When I hear numbers like that, the first thing that crosses my mind, and probably yours as well, is that there must be some sort of catch or the entire thing is a scam. However, I have to admit that I was very intrigued so I started researching the device thoroughly with cautious optimism and finally purchased one about 2 months ago. We have been using it successfully ever since and I’m happy to report that it is definitely not a scam! That’s not to say that there weren’t any problems with it, there were, but they were trivial in comparison to the amount of money that magicJack will save us every month for as long as we continue to use it.

How magicJack Works

I’ve been continuing to work on expanding the Services section and have just finished a short guide to saving money on your home phone service. Point your browser over there to see what your options are:

It is clear that the internet has revolutionized the way we communicate by introducing email, instant messaging, video conferencing, message forums, newsgroups, and blogs. But not only that, it is also becoming the only infrastructure necessary to do many of the things that used to require special mediums before like making phone calls, watching TV, listening to music, and so on. Yes, the internet can even help you completely eliminate your monthly home phone bill as well as the long distance charges you may have become accustomed to!

Most people have heard of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as it has been a big buzz word over the past several years. However, many people don’t fully understand how it works and think it is probably too complicated for them to bother using. That couldn’t be further from the truth! There are tons of VoIP devices and services on the market today and many of them are geared towards average people with little technical know how so that everyone can take full advantage of it. But how do you know which VoIP device or service provider to choose?

How To Choose A VoIP Provider

First launched in 2003, Skype was the pioneer in bringing VoIP technology to the masses. At its core, it is simply a piece of software that you install on your computer that allows you to communicate for free by voice using a headset with other Skype users anywhere in the world that also have Skype installed. In the beginning, that was enough to get people excited and many people signed up for the service even back then. Today it has grown to allow for voice, video, and text communication using a computer, a Skype phone, a standard phone with an adapter, or a smart phone.

Not only that, but the person on the other end doesn’t need to be using a computer at all as Skype can make calls to regular landlines and cell phones and you can even have a standard phone number that will ring you on Skype when somebody calls it. All these features combined make it possible to entirely replace your home phone with Skype, which is something I’ve actually done myself. Oh, and did I mention it is extremely cheap to set up and use?!

Getting Started With Skype

Most people who have a home phone stick with their home phone service provider for all of their long distance needs, but is that really the most cost effective thing to do? It really isn’t! There are so many long distance service providers in Canada that you can definitely save money by switching away from Bell, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, or Telus. Switching is easy, sometimes not even requiring you to make any changes to your existing service, so there is really no reason not to switch!

Direct Dial Long Distance – 2.2 Cents Per Minute

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is, at its heart, just a method for communicating by voice over the Internet instead of through traditional phone lines. Simple.

However, with it comes a whole new set of technology challenges because communication through the internet is typically much slower than a direct telephone connection. This is because of how internet traffic is routed and because data sent through the internet is usually split up into very small chunks before it is transmitted and is reassembled later when it is received. These things can introduce big delays that are very annoying when speaking to someone else, causing you to constantly talk over each other, as well as causing garbled speech when all of the data isn’t received in a timely fashion or if it is in the incorrect sequence.

Fortunately VoIP has been around for quite a few years now and due to advances in the technology and faster internet speeds, these problems aren’t nearly as troublesome. Many companies have embraced VoIP and launched consumer friendly devices and services that are easy to use, cheap, and work extremely well. This guide will cover the most popular VoIP services that can ultimately save you a lot of money on your phone service and long distance charges.

The Most Popular VoIP Devices And Services

There are so many long distance providers available to Canadians that it can be difficult to evaluate them all, but in this guide I’m going to give it my best effort! There are essentially three types of long distance providers that you might consider using and that is what this guide is all about.

Direct Dial Long Distance Through Your Home Phone Provider

Calling cards have been kicking around convenience stores forever and have always offered significant savings off the standard long distance rates charged by phone service providers, yet still many people choose not to use them. People like the convenience of being able to pick up the phone, quickly dial a number, and be immediately connected to their desired party. In other cases it may not be an issue of convenience, but instead an issue of complexity. Calling cards can be complex with huge lists of local access numbers, different rules and fees for using every card, and lots of fine print to read.

It is true that calling cards add in extra steps that can be cumbersome, so is using a calling card really worth it? I believe the answer to that question is yes! They can save you a lot of money, so in that regard they are worth it, and, after reading this guide, you should have a much better understanding of how they work, how you can make use of them without too much hassle, and what the best calling cards are for your personal needs.